After much anticipation and hype, Sikandar, starring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, finally released in theatres on March 30, Sunday, on the occasion of Eid. And as the first day ended, the film managed to collect Rs 26 crore at the box office, which is less than what the makers, trade analysts and audiences had expected.
According to Sacnilk, Sikandar only had 23.47 per cent occupancy on Sunday for its primary Hindi version, which is shocking as the makers had gone all out to promote the film as Salman's big Eid gift to his fans.
With the Rs 26 crore collection on its first day, Sikandar failed to beat Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava, which opened at Rs 31 crore, this year. The film also could not beat Salman's last film before Sikandar, Tiger Zinda Hai, which had earned Rs 33 crore on its first day. But what it did manage to race past was the Day 1 box office collection of the superstar's Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, which had minted Rs 15 crore on its opening day.
Sikandar is made on a massive budget of Rs 200 crore, and it will be interesting to see if the film manages to recover the budget and make some decent profit, despite the slow start.
One reason for Sikandar's poor box office show on its first day could be the major leak that happened a day before the film's release. The entire film was leaked online on Saturday evening, and the makers swung into action and got it deleted from 600 websites, but the damage was already done.
The makers are yet to issue an official statement on the piracy row.
Sikandar marks Salman's first collaboration with Ghajini director AR Murugadoss, who gave Bollywood its first Rs 100 crore film. The film also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Sharman Joshi, Prateik Babbar, Sathyaraj and others, but looks like even all the popular names along with Salman's mega stardom could not push the film beyond a certain extent.
